500 Ukraine miners trapped in Donetsk coal mine after shelling hits power station

Five hundred miners were trapped underground in a coal mine in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after shelling hit a power station that supplies its electricity.

The men could not escape the Zasyadko coalmine – the country's largest and best-equipped mine – after a blast at an electric substation stopped supplies.

"At about 12:00 we registered a hit in one of our electric stations which delivers power to the Zasyadko coalmine - 496 miners were trapped there," Aleksey Kostrubitsky, head of the emergency services told Russia Today.

"As a result the elevator at the mine was left without power."

The men were later rescued after spending hours trapped underground without electricity.

It comes just over a fortnight since a similar incident trapped 300 miners.

The worst tragedy to hit the mine was in 2007 when 101 miners were killed in a methane explosion.

Relatives attend the funeral of a miner killed by a blast at Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk, UkraineReuters/Gleb Garanich (UKRAINE)

The war between pro-Russian separatists and government forces has erupted again following failed peace talks. Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed over the past 24 hours.